Anyone else experiencing major drops in eBay sales lately???

[fatcat]

I have never sold any lego and plan to hoard as much lego as I possibly can

 

 Im close to 300% profit without even trying that hard.

 

Ah the siren song of paper profits. Good times

[Pseudoty]

This is all great in theory, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that there was never a year that saw the number of book, potato, or Barbie (maybe even all combined) resellers increase equal to the amount LEGO resellers has increased over the past year. Is there money to be made? Of course. But it is less than what it was, regardless of the level of service or anything else you want to provide. If it's worth it to you, good for you. People are coming to this looking for easy money, not scrapping their way to paying for their hobby. Let's continue this chat in a few years when you've had a chance to see a change in the LEGO marketplace.

Beanie Babies. I was in on them from the beginning I went from being 1 of 3 sellers at a large flea market to 1 of 100 all in one year. You had to have the newest releases and the rarest retireds to lure customers to your table. They had exclusives, hard to find, and limited editions. Then they made better versions of their retired items and people no longer wanted the retired items. You used to have to sleep out overnight to get your limit of 2 new releases for $5 each that you could flip for $25-$100. Then they flooded the market with new product and there was no more secondary market demand as you could walk into any store and buy all you wanted no limits. Then you couldn't give them away. You had to know when the time to get out was and unload your inventory.

Back then nobody thought that money train would ever stop until the company Ty changed their business model. I have some MWMT Princess Bears I will gladly trade you for your MISB DS ;)

[Darth_Raichu]

Actually, if you think the number of competition is scary now, wait until the practitioners of "emazers' guide to success in LEGO reselling (TM?)" decide to sell their stash     

[Young_Gun21]

Actually, if you think the number of competition is scary now, wait until the practitioners of "emazers' guide to success in LEGO reselling (TM?)" decide to sell their stash

How many people do you think actually dropped 10k+ and are willing to wait 2+ years. It could be true but I think more people are lured into the smaller quicker profits.

-I don't always go shopping, but when I do I buy Lego-

[hxckid88]

How many people do you think actually dropped 10k+ and are willing to wait 2+ years. It could be true but I think more people are lured into the smaller quicker profits.

-I don't always go shopping, but when I do I buy Lego-

I'll put it out there. I have. I have also sold. Though I do not do exclusively what Emazers does I do do it to an extent and have been doing it more. It's more of a guarantee. It's wayyyyyyyy less work then any other way to invest. With that said I still buy clesrnece and such cause their is something I really enjoy about the thrill of the hunt. With thst said I'd trade every clesrnece deal I've ever gotten in for fire brigades that old have been had for 119.00 for 6 months straight and I'm sure every one of you would do. I really do belive there is an aspect of fun to getting that clesrnece deal or hot sale thst csnt be had with click click over and over on sure winners like fb. To elaborate on that the thing that I see the most on this site is people always jumping on the next sale despite the one from last week still be active and being way better. How many of u were buying exclusives s from Wal-Mart after the first week and how many wernt cause it wasn't new and fresh anymore?

[cornstiffy]

My take on this is the Lego Blue Blood sellers are now running scared.  They know change is upon them and yet are clinging to the old ways of the game. Lego is not my only product nor is it my main product but I have seen the same scenario play out in each product category I sell in over the last five years on ebay and amazon: higher sales numbers while at the same time lower margins.  Selling more means more work but at the end of the day I know my greatest strength in this game is being able to out hustle 90% of the people playing it. 

[emazers]

Really... And what category do you fall into? What makes you so sure that newbies are not making money? I was a newbie once and I've not lost money on a single set I've sold. With Emazers banging on about stocking up on the big exclusives week in week out I wouldn't be so sure that newbies don't know what they're doing.

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Me keep saying to keep buying the big exclusives all the time well I am sure many are not doing it, they would rather wait till the last minute when the word is retiring soon, and like I said from the beginning alot of the would be investers from say in the last year have started to crack, some can't wait a week,month,etc they just can't wait, as for the exclusives when Amazon,etc was still having those flash sales there were still guys on here that would not buy the sets, they wanted the sets cheaper, now with no sales alot of guys are not buying them until they get ready to retire.

[Young_Gun21]

I'll put it out there. I have. I have also sold. Though I do not do exclusively what Emazers does I do do it to an extent and have been doing it more. It's more of a guarantee. It's wayyyyyyyy less work then any other way to invest. With that said I still buy clesrnece and such cause their is something I really enjoy about the thrill of the hunt. With thst said I'd trade every clesrnece deal I've ever gotten in for fire brigades that old have been had for 119.00 for 6 months straight and I'm sure every one of you would do. I really do belive there is an aspect of fun to getting that clesrnece deal or hot sale thst csnt be had with click click over and over on sure winners like fb. To elaborate on that the thing that I see the most on this site is people always jumping on the next sale despite the one from last week still be active and being way better. How many of u were buying exclusives s from Wal-Mart after the first week and how many went cause it wasn't new and fresh anymore?

I wasn't meaning it towards experienced people like you I was more meaning it towards the people in their first few months. I have only been on this site a little while but I have seen a lot of post about how they bought something on clearance and are selling at a loss or break even. Most people don't see the idea of LEGO investing and say "I gonna drop a ton of money on exclusives and wait it out" It's more of the people who have had the experience in the market and know that exclusives require less work, selling, time.

-I don't always go shopping, but when I do I buy Lego-

[Darth_Raichu]

I wasn't meaning it towards experienced people like you I was more meaning it towards the people in their first few months. I have only been on this site a little while but I have seen a lot of post about how they bought something on clearance and are selling at a loss or break even. Most people don't see the idea of LEGO investing and say "I gonna drop a ton of money on exclusives and wait it out" It's more of the people who have had the experience in the market and know that exclusives require less work, selling, time.

-I don't always go shopping, but when I do I buy Lego-

 

You based your assumption on the types of posts on the forum.  The owners already said there are a lot more members lurking than the yakyakyak types like me

If anything anyone should summarize from this thread is that nobody knows how many and what type of investors are reading this very post right now

[hxckid88]

You based your assumption on the types of posts on the forum. The owners already said there are a lot more members lurking than the yakyakyak types like me

If anything anyone should summarize from this thread is that nobody knows how many and what type of investors are reading this very post right now

rumor has it that sir edward and sir Jeffery actually work for lego. This is all part of an elaborate plan to infiltrate the resellers market. You heard it here first.

[Young_Gun21]

You based your assumption on the types of posts on the forum. The owners already said there are a lot more members lurking than the yakyakyak types like me

If anything anyone should summarize from this thread is that nobody knows how many and what type of investors are reading this very post right now

Very true but we have all been assuming stuff so it just kind of happens without even noticing it. Yakyaks are great because they provide entertaining arguments and keep the forums alive.

-I don't always go shopping, but when I do I buy Lego-

[Mos_Eisley]

Beanie Babies. I was in on them from the beginning I went from being 1 of 3 sellers at a large flea market to 1 of 100 all in one year. You had to have the newest releases and the rarest retireds to lure customers to your table. They had exclusives, hard to find, and limited editions. Then they made better versions of their retired items and people no longer wanted the retired items. You used to have to sleep out overnight to get your limit of 2 new releases for $5 each that you could flip for $25-$100. Then they flooded the market with new product and there was no more secondary market demand as you could walk into any store and buy all you wanted no limits. Then you couldn't give them away. You had to know when the time to get out was and unload your inventory.

Back then nobody thought that money train would ever stop until the company Ty changed their business model. I have some MWMT Princess Bears I will gladly trade you for your MISB DS

Well that all sounds dreamy. I wasn't a seller of Beanie Babies, but my mom was into them so I was a buyer. I remember the early mornings and stores popping up all over the place selling only Beanie Babies. I don't think Beanie Babies are equal to LEGO sets, but the impact on the market of too many sellers is the same.

[dbost01]

not the same

[kangotti]

This reminds me of the 90's when all the sports memorabilia collectors became dealers. There was money to be made very quickly. Then, as soon as the market was ruined with too many dealers undercutting each other, they all got out and sold everything dirt cheap. We are starting to re-live the 90's folks. Its ok if you don't want to believe it. Some will survive it. Some won't. But, mark my word, the secondary market will be ruined when all is said and done. Not a bubble, not a sky is falling, just another friendly reality check. (now remember, this has nothing to do with the production or quantity of baseball cards produced, but EVERYTHING to do with the number of dealers and people who wanted a piece of the money pie at the time so don't start comparing sports cards to LEGO -- Its about comparing the markets - not the product.)

So I am just reading this thread now, and just got to this comment. 

 

As someone who was in the sports card business in the 80's and 90's. I can see how you might have this opinion if you were on the outside looking in. But number of dealers, buyers whatever had very little affect on killing the market.  It was the Card companies that were the dominating factors that killed the industry.  Example; in 85 for baseball there was 3 sets (Topps, Fleer, Donruss) in like 92 there was a new set ever day.  People could not keep up, card life shrank to less that 6 months( more like 3 months or less in my opinion), and new packs went from less than a buck to hundreds of dollars. so quick recap. In 7 years we went form 3 to hundreds of sets, and from less than a buck a pack to if I remember right one was over $500 new. 

 

Dealers had no control over market saturation, the manufacturers got greedy and went for the quick buck. This is just 1 of the big factors in the death of cards, but number of dealers and buyer was never one of them.  

 

Touchy subject for me, I was young and family took advantage of me, I lost millions because I made the mistake of  going into business a) with family with a partner, and c) buy allowing an adult as I was a minor at the time, to take ownership, allowing my opinion to no longer matter or sharing the profits with me as they sold off my inventory.

 

Again I am just up to page 5 if this has been brought up already, I apologize 

[kangotti]

You haven't seen anything yet.  Wait till you see all the new ways we will promote LEGO and the new Daily Deals and Classifieds, with a new look on the site and the way it all ties together.  We are the Alpha and the Omega.  We are the Beginning and the End of LEGO investing....MUHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA 

 

It is a post like this which sums up my feelings on this subject and why this site was developed. There are plenty of untapped markets and sets for the LEGO investing party to continue. For those "old timers" who were spoiled by 100%+++ returns in less than a year, sorry that Jeff and I pooped on your parade. Adapt or die. The incessant complaining about the good old days and how BrickPicker ruined the market is growing tiresome. Obviously, the value of many sets continues to climb. Maybe all of you anti-BrickPicker types are choosing the wrong sets to sell.

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Only a fool would believe that if brickpicker did not exist everything would be good, If they did not make it, someone else would have.  And they might not have been as friendly, nice or as entertaining as these guy's.

 

I say great job, and keep it up. 

[kangotti]

Beanie Babies. I was in on them from the beginning I went from being 1 of 3 sellers at a large flea market to 1 of 100 all in one year. You had to have the newest releases and the rarest retireds to lure customers to your table. They had exclusives, hard to find, and limited editions. Then they made better versions of their retired items and people no longer wanted the retired items. You used to have to sleep out overnight to get your limit of 2 new releases for $5 each that you could flip for $25-$100. Then they flooded the market with new product and there was no more secondary market demand as you could walk into any store and buy all you wanted no limits. Then you couldn't give them away. You had to know when the time to get out was and unload your inventory.

Back then nobody thought that money train would ever stop until the company Ty changed their business model. I have some MWMT Princess Bears I will gladly trade you for your MISB DS

no joke, people would line up the day before just to buy them, they would come in and go right back out, inventory, what inventory,  . but ya TY got greedy, and killed there market.

 

I only ever keep a few, and now I use them as rewards for my girls.

[TheViralSmile]

After reading the posts in this "topic" ... perhaps I shouldn't feel so bad about recently getting banned from LEGO Shop at Home!

 

J/K ... dang LEGO Shop at Home!

 

OK ... long term ... I do this more as a hobby ... and because I don't want to have to pay obnoxious prices for today's sets 5 or 10 years from now!

 

(I should note that altogether I have spent about $10,000 ... but I'm in it for more the long term ... I probably won't get serious about selling any sets for at least 2 years!)

[vincevaughn]

IMO it is really kind of pointless to compare LEGO to other commodities such as beanie babies and baseball cards because LEGO is not like said commodities. With most things you buy it is one product. With a LEGO set you are buying one thing that contains100's of seperate elements each with their own value. And all of those elements will combine with other elements. Elements from 30 years ago will still work with elements today. And a rich and vibrant culture has developed around this. To the point were people can make good money just selling their custom builds. How many other products can put a claim to this. I really can't think of any.

This combined with a company who have a reputation for producing a quality product and who are careful to not flood the market makes me feel very secure about having a spare bedroom full of expensive boxes of fun.

[dbost01]

Well put

 

There is definitely not a barbielink where you can buy Barbie parts to make a new Barbie constructions.

[Alcarin]

If the World economy colapses (as it should based on the evidence and sight of whats happening) the LEGO investment will collapse aswell....

 

Thats a fact....

 

Its not just about resellers vs buyers and collectors.... Its about the fact that people live worse and worse, and the money is worth less and less (inflation)

 

1st things to cancel in times of worldwide crisis will be commodities such as LEGO....

 

So best thing to invest these days is ammunition and food reproduction

 

Mark my words

[Ed Mack]

If the World economy colapses (as it should based on the evidence and sight of whats happening) the LEGO investment will collapse aswell....

Thats a fact....

Its not just about resellers vs buyers and collectors.... Its about the fact that people live worse and worse, and the money is worth less and less (inflation)

1st things to cancel in times of worldwide crisis will be commodities such as LEGO....

So best thing to invest these days is ammunition and food reproduction

Mark my words

Thank you Mr. Happy. The Russian army will be coming soon to collect your sets. You better move to Greenland while you have a chance.

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[stoltzjl77]

Ed/Jeff, do we have year-on-year data for eBay sales (that you're willing to share)? Can you tell us percentage-wise how 2013 compares to 2011-2012?

 

There seems to be a contention that the pie isn't growing among the naysayers, so I'm wondering if there is any evidence to back that up. There are definitely more resellers though we have no way of knowing how many.

 

I wonder if there is any way to obtain LEGO sales data also. Do they publish annual sales figures?

[Alcarin]

Thank you Mr. Happy. The Russian army will be coming soon to collect your sets. You better move to Greenland while you have a chance.

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Dont worry, Ill be on their side :P

 

ill forfeit the sets

 

Just watch that Yellowstone does not erupt before American collectors sell all their stash ... the animals are already sighted fleeing uncoordinated from the park

 

For non-believers

 

http://beforeitsnews.com/earthquakes/2014/03/animals-leaving-yellowstone-what-do-they-know-we-dont-know-earthquakes-and-seismic-activity-2492698.html

[stoltzjl77]

Also as one who primarily sells on Amazon and BrickLink, it is incumbent upon me to remind the thread that eBay is only a fraction of the resale market. Probably the biggest at the moment, but (and I have no way to support this) I am guessing Amazon 3rd party is gaining market share.

[Ed Mack]

Dont worry, Ill be on their side :P

ill forfeit the sets

Just watch that Yellowstone does not erupt before American collectors sell all their stash ... the animals are already sighted fleeing uncoordinated from the park

For non-believers

http://beforeitsnews.com/earthquakes/2014/03/animals-leaving-yellowstone-what-do-they-know-we-dont-know-earthquakes-and-seismic-activity-2492698.html

OK Comrade...I guess that picture of a shirtless Putin on horseback convinced you to put down your weapons. LOL

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